Use of the Inertial Profilometer to Calibrate the Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Highways' Mays Ride Meter Systems

In May 1987, a project was undertaken in Kentucky to calibrate five Kentucky Department of Highways vehicle-mounted Mays Ride Meter (MRM) systems. An inertial profilometer operated by the National Bureau of Standards was used. Multiple elevation profiles were taken in order to evaluate the precision of the measuring method. Mean MRM Index values were computed for each MRM system. A second profilometer was used to determine that equivalent calibrations can be expected from identical inertial profilometers. A method was devised by which real measurements by individual MRM systems can be converted into Standard MRM Index values. Additional research is needed to determine the time stability of both the MRM systems and the pavement sections used in calibration.